


Save Them All

by nerdlife4eva



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Hurt/Comfort, Keith is a social worker, Keith is so devoted to his job, M/M, Married Sheith, Mentions of child abuse (non-explicit), Shiro is a lawyer, Supportive Shiro (Voltron), and Shiro loves him so much, not my normal fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:31:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdlife4eva/pseuds/nerdlife4eva
Summary: After growing up in the system, Keith became a social worker to help kids in a way that no one ever helped him.One case changes his life forever.





	Save Them All

**Author's Note:**

> I had a bad day. This is the only way I could exorcise the emotional pain that I am trying to process. There are mentions of child abuse and terrible parents, but it is non-explicit. It does have a happy ending, but mostly, this is a feels fest. My day didn't have a happy ending, so I gave them one. 
> 
> Song: [Unsteady](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5yB0Z2q9s)
> 
> If you like this world and want to see it continued, please let me know in the comments or find me on Tumblr or Twitter.  
> [NeRdLife4Eva Twitter](https://twitter.com/NeRdLife4Eva)  
> [n3rdlif343va Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/n3rdlif343va)

The rain pounding on the windshield of Keith’s car felt like an appropriate representation of the misery sinking deep into his bones. It had been storming all day, rolls of thunders, cracks of lightning, and driving rain that made the world seem simultaneously angry and ready to drown itself in despair. There had never been a more fitting day for this type of weather.

Pulling into his parking spot, Keith turned off his car and let his hand fall limply to his side. Fifteen feet away was the front door to their house. Inside somewhere would be a strong set of arms waiting to hold him through the storm that was building to a breaking point inside of Keith’s chest. Yet, he couldn’t find the strength to move.

From the moment the phone had rung that morning, Keith had known that the world was about to turn black. “BRB, let me get rid of this asshole principal,” Keith had typed quickly to Shiro, pausing their text stream long enough to answer the call. Resigned to another round of demands from the forever thankless administration, Keith’s frustration came to a screeching halt at the small quaking voice echoing through the line.

A single “Mr. Keith?” had called out, sounding hurt and terrified. The boy’s voice shattered, the rest of his words nothing but grabbled gibberish. Catching the words “help me” and “please,” Keith was standing from his desk and grabbing his keys before even receiving the answer to his question. “Where are you?” he asked, trying to keep his emotions in control as he strode through his office. The response was muffled by another cry and Keith set off at a run towards his car.

Three phone calls were made in rapid succession as he rushed toward the elementary school. A counselor, a judge, and a friend. The latter was also a police officer who promised to meet Keith within ten minutes.

Shaking as he stepped from his car, Keith willed himself to calm down as he moved quickly to the front door of the school. There was no need to identify himself, the entire staff knew who he was, but Keith stood back to angle his face toward the camera anyway. Nodding when he was invited in by name, Keith yanked open the door and crossed the lobby in a narrow-minded daze.

The path to Hunk’s office was well-worn. Every student loved him and trusted him in a way that Keith knew was rare for school counselors. Perhaps it was the never-ending supply of cookies and plushies that were available in Hunk’s office, but Keith believed it had more to do with the warmth of the man himself. Stalling for only a moment in front of the door, Keith braced himself before raising his hand to knock.

“Hey,” Hunk greeted him, his usual smile missing and his eyes conveying concern that Keith knew was mirrored in his own. “He’s…”

A blur of blue tackled Keith’s side, tiny arms wrapping around Keith’s waist and the sounds of crying hidden in the fabric of Keith’s coat. Glancing at Hunk for support, Keith took his small nod as agreement. Withdrawing from the boy’s hold only slightly, Keith dropped to his knees and allowed those same tiny arms to wrap around his neck. “Hey kiddo,” he whispered, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the boy and let him cry.

Alone in his car, Keith let the tears roll down his cheeks, burning with the heat of suppressing them for so long. His head pounded with the emotions that he had held back, his body shaking as his adrenaline began to crash. Blindly groping for the door handle, Keith shoved it open, dragging his bag across the seat and slumping toward the front door.

The foyer was dark and warm, Keith’s wet dress shoes squeaking as he stepped inside. His heart wanted him to call out, to let Shiro know that he was home and needed to be held, but he was too tired to speak the words. Anger flared inside of him as the memory of the boy’s swollen cheek loomed in his mind and ghosts of his words as he gave his report to Lance stabbed Keith’s heart again. Slamming his bag on the ground, Keith ripped his coat off and threw it across the room. The dull thud was unsatisfying and Keith found himself crumpling onto the ground, his own sobs finally winning the battle he had fought all day.

It was there on the floor of their front room that Shiro found him. Easing down, Shiro collected his husband into his lap, guiding Keith’s head onto his shoulder and letting Keith cling while he cried. After Keith’s abrupt disappearance from their text conversation and lack of communication for the remainder of the day, Shiro had been practically losing his mind. Lance had finally called, filling Shiro in on what details that he could and warning Shiro that Keith wouldn’t be coming home in any functional state.

Shiro was proud of the work Keith did, knowing that his husband’s drive and unfailing heart were assets to his career as a social worker. Keith had grown up in the system, seen the worst that it could do to a kid who only needed to be protected, and he had vowed not to let that happen to another child. When they had been transitioning from undergrad to higher studies, Shiro had worried about Keith’s determination to change the system that failed him, but Shiro had never wavered in his support of Keith’s goals.

Holding his husband now, feeling the pain and grief rolling off of him in shuddering waves, Shiro wished he had a time machine to go back and change all the moments that had led them here. It was selfish, because the number of children Keith had helped was astronomical, but with every case Keith gave away a little more of himself. Pressing kisses into Keith’s hair, Shiro continued to rub at Keith’s shaking back, ignoring the uncomfortable dampness of Keith’s tears on his shirt and the bruising grip of Keith’s hand on his neck.

Being in Shiro’s arms should have been enough to quiet Keith’s emotional hurricane, but there was no settling any of the thoughts raging in Keith’s mind. Aaron, a boy of seven years old who wasn’t bigger than the average five year old, had spent the better part of thirty minutes hiccupping his way through his report to Lance and Hunk. Both were familiar faces to the boy and Keith was grateful that his friends were also the kind of people who wanted to help children.

He had held Aaron’s hand throughout the entire conversation, staring at the way the tiny fingers curled around his own. Holding back his own anger, Keith had managed to keep his hands from shaking, remaining a steady source of support for the boy who had only been his responsibility for month but had solidified a place deep inside of Keith’s heart.

It had been Pidge’s idea that Keith transport the child from the school to the courthouse and he had held Aaron’s hand then too, traversing the long sterile hallways of the old court building until they reached Pidge’s office. To Aaron, she was Judge Holt, the woman in charge of his case who had lectured both of his drug-dependent parents on the necessity of becoming better humans. To Keith, she was Katie aka Pidge, the fierce little girl who had become the toughest judge in their jurisdiction. It was true that not all heroes wore capes, some wore black robes.

Tucking his face into Shiro’s neck, Keith tried and failed to stop the tears that seemed to never want to end. His mind wouldn’t stop replaying Aaron’s words, hearing them a second time as his tiny voice barely filled the space in Pidge’s chambers. He had never seen a child so small act with such bravery and his heart gave a painful throb in his chest.

“It’s not fair,” he cried, letting himself sound childish. He had told Aaron the same thing, sitting in the hallway outside of Pidge’s office and watching the boy eagerly eat the McDonald’s happy meal that Lance had thoughtfully delivered. Just once in his youth Keith had wanted someone, any adult at all, to confirm that what Keith was dealing with wasn’t normal. He had desperately wanted to know that his feelings of unfairness and injustice were valid. Sitting on the bench with Aaron, Keith knew that although he couldn’t give the boy much, he could give him that.

Curling tighter into Shiro’s arms, Keith let himself collapse. The world was too heavy of a burden, his heart was torn into too many pieces to repair. Watching Aaron leave with his temporary foster parents, the echoes of his tiny voice asking why he couldn’t go with Keith, made the last strands of Keith’s resistance shatter. Pidge had let him do the first round of his breakdown in her office and it wasn’t until he promised that he could drive safely that she had let him come home to Shiro.

“I hate bad parents,” Keith growled, his teeth gritting so hard that the noise made Shiro flinch beneath him. “Why does God take the good parents away and leave the shitty ones?” Breaking on another sob, Keith let himself succumb to the force of it.

Shiro knew all too well that Keith’s pain flared from the loss of his own parents and possibly from Shiro’s loss as well. Through Keith’s memories, Shiro had learned that life before the age of seven had been ideal for Keith. His parents had loved him and had loved each other, using that love to build a home full of laughter and happiness. Shiro’s parents had been more traditional, but they had still built Shiro up to believe that all of his dreams could be realities.

At seven, Keith had lost his parents to an act of senseless violence. At ten, Shiro had lost his to the carelessness of a drunk driver. Unlike Shiro who had his grandfather to raise him, Keith had no one and had spent his childhood being tossed around like a ragdoll from one shitty foster home to another. Realizing Keith was speaking again, Shiro pulled himself from his thoughts, humming as a request for Keith to repeat himself.

“I just let him go. He asked to be with me… he wanted to come with me… he trusts _me_ … and I just let him go. I know that the Mamoras are good people, but… Shiro… I should have… I don’t know… I should have…” It was unrealistic to think that he would have been allowed to bring Aaron home with him, but Keith was unwilling to let realism vanquish any part of his guilt.

Bracing his shoulders on the wall, Shiro sat up taller and forced Keith to lean back. Gently cupping Keith’s chin, Shiro searched his eyes. “You know that you can’t save them all,” Shiro started, making a shushing sound when Keith went to protest. He didn’t let Keith’s scowl sting his heart and instead pushed forward with his thoughts. “Aaron’s parents… they will go to jail now?” He waited until Keith nodded, Shiro’s phone call with Pidge ringing loudly in his mind as he pushed forward. “And if you aren’t on his case, it goes to Allura, right?” Again Keith nodded, confirming knowledge Shiro had already acquired.

In all the years that Keith had been chasing deadbeat parents, running homework groups for children, making wellness visits, and taking money from his own pocket to buy groceries, diapers, and school supplies, Shiro had never seen his husband so completely absorbed by one case. Keith cared about every child he worked with, they weren’t case numbers or file jackets to him, but real people who deserved a chance to know that there was good in the world. Aaron had been different from the first moment Keith had met him and Shiro had watched Keith grow more and more attached to the child with every passing day.

Irritation sparked under Keith’s skin as Shiro silently studied his face. If Shiro asked him to give up Aaron’s case, Keith knew that it would lead to a fight and a night spent in the guest room. Maybe his concern for Aaron was more pronounced than Keith strictly had an explanation for, but his heart followed the little boy everywhere he went. All he wanted was for Aaron to have a chance to know what real love was. Even though Aaron’s lifetime had been short thus far, he had never experienced anything beyond starvation, neglect, and abuse.

“I’m not abandoning him,” Keith ripped his chin from Shiro’s hand and scrambled from his lap. “I know that I’m too invested, I get it,” he gritted out. Grabbing the heel of each one of his shoes in turn, Keith slammed them both onto the floor. “But if you think I am going to be another person who walks out of that boy’s life… another adult who disappoints him… you’ve got another thi-”

“Keith.”

The way Shiro said his name had Keith’s shoulder sagging, the temper simmering in his chest rising up to choke him into silence. Refusing to look up, even when Shiro’s hands rested on his shoulders, Keith merely grunted in response.

“I don’t want you to abandon him. The opposite actually.” Solemnly, Shiro peered back as Keith’s confused eyes finally found his own. “I spoke to Pidge, and Lance, and Allura,” he saw a flicker of a smile flash at the corner of Keith’s mouth and clung to the hope it gave him. “We’ve talked about adopting, but haven’t pulled the trigger. If Allura takes the case, Pidge will fast-track the adoption. Both parents will be deemed unfit and as Lance explains it, they won’t see the outside of a jail cell for the next fourteen years or so. Especially after the amount of drugs and weapons they found during their arrest today.”

Information swirled in Keith’s mind, an overwhelming cyclone of fury towards the despicable lifeforms who had brought Aaron into the world and a thread of hope which broke through the storm. “You want… you want to adopt Aaron?” Saying the words out loud made Keith’s heart hammer unsteadily into his rib cage. “You know it won’t be easy. His medical issues alone and then whatever effects the trauma has on him… I…” Eyes searching Shiro’s face for doubt, all Keith discovered was understanding.

“There was once a boy who the world was ready to give up on… who grew up to be the best man I’ve ever known.” Running his hands down and up Keith’s arms, Shiro settled his hands on either side of Keith’s neck. “He taught me that everyone deserves to be loved. And if you want… if you are willing to take this chance with me… maybe we can show Aaron that love does exist.”

Throwing himself into Shiro’s arms, Keith crushed his incredible husband into a hug. “I love you so much. Yes. Yes, that’s what I want. More than anything.” Pushing up on his toes, Keith cupped Shiro’s cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I can’t believe… yes I can… you... are... the best… thank you, Shiro…. Thank you.” Tears returned to Keith’s eyes, this time they were warm with relief. This was the solution his heart had been yearning for but his brain had been too stupid to consider. As always though, Shiro had been one step ahead of him, providing the answers that Keith couldn’t have discovered on his own.

“He has to spend twenty-four hours with the Mamoras… long enough for the file to transfer, but Allura is awaiting our confirmation. Matt agreed to draft the adoption papers and he will go see both parents in central booking tomorrow. Kolivan offered to go with him, so I highly doubt there will be any resistance.” Shiro grinned at the thought of the largest, most intimidating lawyer in their firm following Matt into the jail tomorrow, knowing that his colleagues were eager to have his back. “There aren't any other family members who aren't already in jail or dead, so without us, foster care is all Aaron has. But if all goes according to plan, Aaron can come home tomorrow and be officially ours before the end of the week.”

“Home…” Keith felt the word catch in the back of his throat. Although he had no idea how he still had tears to cry, he felt another rush of them run down his face. “Ours.” Sliding his arms around Shiro’s waist, Keith felt his mind finally begin to calm. “Thank you, Takashi,” Keith whispered, sighing when he felt Shiro’s hand massage his neck. “Thank you for giving us this chance… for thinking when I couldn’t…” There were so many other things Keith wanted to say, but the exhaustion of his day was beginning to catch up with him.

Bending to slip an arm under Keith’s knees, Shiro hoisted him up from the ground, happy when Keith didn’t protest being carried. His husband was limp in Shiro’s arms, Keith’s eyelids already starting to droop as Shiro carried him toward the bedroom. Common sense told him he should make Keith eat something before falling asleep, but the swollen red rims of Keith’s eyes told Shiro that Keith needed rest more than anything else. The month since Aaron had become a part of Keith’s caseload had sapped Keith’s energy in a way Shiro had never seen and he wasn’t going to fight it if Keith was finally going to reunite himself with the concept of sleep.

Letting himself be lowered to the bed, Keith tugged Shiro down with him. Sprawling over Shiro’s chest, Keith took a deep breath, feeling his heart begin to settle for the first time since ten that morning.

The road ahead of them would be long and complicated, but every step and every misstep would be worth it. They may not know virtually anything about being parents, but Keith knew that their desire to love and their determination to never give up would be the blocks from which they would build. And no matter what complications life threw at them, they would continue to love each other and Aaron with everything they had.

With that thought, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow, Keith fell asleep lying on Shiro’s chest, listening as the storm outside finally began to fade.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed and emotional, I'm sorry for any errors. 
> 
> Most of my fics don't contain this level of upset. Please consider checking out any of my other fics!  
> [Unwritten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15583593/chapters/36179688) a Sheith fic about Author Keith and Fanboy Shiro, filled with mutual pining and reuniting of childhood friends :) - complete  
> [A Wild Bearded Shiro Appears](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054420) \- Shiro participates in No Shave November. RIP Keith (college roommates AU)  
> [A Week For Us](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261003/chapters/40591424) \- married Sheith celebrate the five year anniversary of their engagement, with a little surprise in the form of a very tiny new family member  
> [Mine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16302947) \- a one-shot of married Sheith getting jealous at a party and solving it with sexy times  
> [Where We Belong](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15730515) \- fluffy post Season 7 Domestic Sheith escaping for a weekend away to Keith's old shack  
> [Our Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574111) \- Domestic Sheith one-shot in which Shiro decorates their room  
> [It Only Took a Hurricane](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17227133) \- a completed Lifeguard AU (best friends to lovers)  
> [Disaster You, Disaster Me, Disaster We](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16513202/chapters/38678120) \- a Sheith blind date AU with a twist  
> [Come on Baby, Frost My Cake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16829314) \- a Sheith set up fic at Hunk's Singles Cake Decorating class (shenanigans ensure)  
> [No Secrets Between Us](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13860900) \- silly crack fic about the team finding out that Sheith are dating


End file.
